1. Filed of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ornamental article having colors and, more particularly, to an ornamental article which can be assembled with cooperating complementary means to provide a desired sequence of colors.
2. Description of Related Art
In the field of jewelry, it is known to use colored stones and gems for a decorative and aesthetic effect. Usually the colored members are mounted in a setting and arranged in a linear fashion such as a bracelet or necklace having a plurality of connected links or chain.
The colors are not known, by the inventor, to represent numerical values. It would be very helpful to assist persons in remembering numbers which are an important part of life in today""s society. Dates for birthdays, anniversaries and special occasions, telephone numbers, social security numbers, are examples of numbers which are important and easily forgotten. An item of jewelry in which specific numbers are represented by different colors is a feature of the present invention.
A further feature is a connector means for interlocking pieces having selected colors to represent the sequence of numbers.
The applicant is aware of the following U.S. patents which disclose connectors but none have a locking connector and a manually-releasable connector like the present invention.
It is an object of the invention to provide a media which is convenient and aesthetic to display a sequence of numbers which are important to a person.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a connector means to permanently or removably connect colored pieces together to form a bracelet, necklace, or other article of jewelry or attire.
In accordance with the teachings of the present invention, there is disclosed a color-coded ornamental article intended to be worn by a person. The article has a plurality of individual pieces, each of which has a colored face representing a digit according to a given code. The pieces are arranged in a given sequence to form a number or date which has particular significance to the person wearing the article. The pieces have cooperating complementary means thereon for interlocking the pieces together.
In further accordance with the teachings of the present invention, there is disclosed a color-coded ornamental article intended to be worn by a person. The article has a plurality of individual pieces, each of which has a colored face representing a digit according to a given code. The pieces are arranged in a given sequence to form a number or date which has particular significance to the person wearing the article. The pieces have cooperating complementary means thereon for interlocking the pieces together. The article is selected from the group consisting of a bracelet, a necklace and an ankle bracelet. The face of each piece has at least two pairs of parallel sides. The colors represent digits as follows:
0xe2x80x94Black
1xe2x80x94Brown
2xe2x80x94Red
3xe2x80x94Orange
4xe2x80x94Yellow
5xe2x80x94Green
6xe2x80x94Blue
7xe2x80x94Violet
8xe2x80x94Gray
9xe2x80x94White
The means for interlocking the pieces together is a permanent lock.
In still further accordance with the teachings of the present invention, there is disclosed a color-coded ornamental article intended to be worn by a person. The article has a plurality of individual pieces. Each piece has a face and at least three sidewalls. Each sidewall has a respective opening therein defining a lip opposite the face and an inner planar surface substantially parallel to the face of the piece. A distal barb and a proximal barb are formed on the inner planar surface. A connector cap has an enlarged center portion and two opposite arms extending outwardly from the center portion, each arm having a distal protrusion and a proximal protrusion formed thereon. One of the arms of the cap is able to be inserted angularly into the opening of the piece. The one of the arms is then able to be leveraged against the lip. The connector cap is pushed inwardly into the opening to abut the center portion of the connector cap against the sidewall and the lip of the opening. The protrusions on the connector cap engage the barbs on the inner planar surface and the connector cap is interconnected with the piece. The arms of the connector cap each have a side opposite from the distal protrusion, the side being tapered to slope toward the distal protrusion. The opening in the piece has an opposite wall sloping toward the inner planar surface and forming a cavity therein inwardly of the distal barb. The tapered side of the connector cap contacts the sloping opposite wall in the opening when the connector cap is pushed inwardly such that the distal protrusion on the connector cap is received in the cavity. The distal barb engages the distal protrusion and the proximal barb engages the proximal protrusion. The opposite arm of the connector cap is similarly received in a respective opening in a second piece such that the two pieces are connected together.
These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent from a reading of the following specification taken in conjunction with the enclosed drawings.